Though breadwinners, women continue to earn less than men

The debate over the gender wage gap has increased in recent months thanks partly to the best-selling book, "Lean In," by Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, and President Barack Obama's commitment during the State of the Union speech to reduce the wage disparity between men and women.

While women are the sole or primary breadwinners in 40 percent of American families, according to a survey released this week by the Pew Research Center, women still make less on average than men do — about 77 cents for every dollar.

“This creates a situation where women are concentrated in occupations that have lower earnings in general. When this happens on a large scale, then differences in pay between genders can result — and this happens without a difference in pay for men and women who are in the same job.”

Economist Stephanie Thomas

While women are the sole or primary breadwinners in 40 percent of American families, according to a survey released this week by the Pew Research Center, women still make less on average than men do — about 77 cents for every dollar.

The debate over the gender wage gap has increased in recent months thanks partly to the best-selling book, "Lean In," by Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, and President Barack Obama's commitment during the State of the Union speech to reduce the wage disparity between men and women. Obama advocates passing the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation which makes it easier to prove gender discrimination in the workplace and toughens penalties for those who are convicted.

But the legislation is controversial. It has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate twice, failing to pass both times. Part of the controversy is that there is no consensus about why the gender wage gap exists.

Opponents of the Paycheck Fairness Act argue that the gap exists because women make different choices when it comes to work and family than men. But supporters of the bill say the wage gap is evidence of persistent discrimination of women in the workplace.

Women's choices

Skeptics of equal pay legislation argue that the census numbers are misleading.

"The census number compares the average earnings of all men with the average earnings of all women," said economist Stephanie Thomas of the Philadelphia-based consulting company Thomas Econometrics. "Those broad averages do result in the 23 cents per hour difference we've all heard of, but the statistic is not actually making an apples-to-apples comparison of men and women because it doesn't control for differences in education, experience or hours worked."

Thomas suggests pay difference is a reflection of women's unique preferences, not discrimination. For example, women tend to gravitate to more stable but lower-paying professions such as nursing and teaching, while men are more likely to seek out high-risk, high-reward opportunities.

"This creates a situation where women are concentrated in occupations that have lower earnings in general. When this happens on a large scale, then differences in pay between genders can result — and this happens without a difference in pay for men and women who are in the same job," Thomas said.

Women are also more likely than men to work part time, which means their total compensation will be lower, even if their employer pays the same wage rates for full- and part-time workers, said Thomas. The differences in total compensation aren't a result of discrimination, but again just reflect that women are choosing to work less.

Uncertainty about the veracity of the gender pay gap isn't the only criticism of the Paycheck Fairness Act. Some experts suggest the legislation would encourage a surge of unfounded class-action lawsuits. Small businesses would also find the new requirements particularly cumbersome, according to labor and employment lawyer Jane McFetridge.

"An employer who pays a man more than a woman for the same job might have to show that it's a 'business necessity,' " she said. "Do we want the government deciding what is business necessity? Isn't that for the business owner to decide?"

Discrimination

Economists who study gender and wages acknowledge that the census numbers don't tell the full story. Women are more likely to work in lower-paying occupations and leave the workforce when they have children, for example, said Cornell University labor economist Francine Blau, who found that accounting for women's choices and differences in education and experience only explains 60 percent of the wage gap. Their apples-to-apples comparison still leaves women earning 91 cents for every dollar that their male peers earn.

Popular Comments

Someone, somewhere, please give me ONE example of where, in the same job, in
the same company, with the same qualifications, a woman is discriminated
against. I defy you to do it. In the litigious society we live in, a business
would be cutting its
More..

10:08 a.m. June 1, 2013

Top comment

Hawkeye79

Iowa City, IA

There are a few important control variables that the Pew Study fails to take
into account, as it looks only at the raw averages of wage per person. Decide
for yourself whether these are valid determinants of pay: